The Green Belt Movement Blog

Founder of GBM and 2004 Nobel Peace Laureate Prof Wangari Maathai today joined the Nobel Womens Initiative (NWI) delegation to Ethiopia, Sudan and Chad. The delegation which includes Nobel Peace Laureate Jody Williams and Activist/Actress Mia Farrow aims to support and encourage women in the region to continue their search for peace, particularly in Dafur. The delegation appealed to the President of Sudan to allow UN Resolution 1769 to be fully and rapidly implemented for the sake of the people of Sudan. In 2005, at the UN World Summit, an earlier resolution regarding the responsibility to protect was unanimously adopted, including by the Government of Sudan.

The Africa leg of the trip follows a week in Thailand, at the Thai-Burma border, where the delegation met with survivors of cyclone Nargis as well as women's groups and community organizations. We will have more about how NWI will add energy to these critical situations. Stay tuned. In the meantime, keep up with the mission on the NWI blog.

The Nobel Women's Initiative was established in 2006 by sister Nobel Peace Laureates Jody Williams, Shirin Ebadi, Wangari Maathai, Rigoberta Menchú Tum, Betty Williams and Mairead Corrigan Maguire. Through the initiative the six women - representing North and South America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa -bring their extraordinary experiences together in a united effort for peace with justice and equality.

For the past nine years enthusiasts have taken to the streets of London, and the river Thames, to participate in the London Triathlon. Many compete for the thrill of the race and others, like Rachel Carless, for the benefit of their chosen charity and the hope of raising funds for their cause. Rachel is dedicating her efforts this year towards raising £1500 for the Green Belt Movement.

Rachel will compete in the Olympic Distance Race: 1500m swim, 40km bike, and 10km run on 9th August. Recent training included completing the Southend Bike ride 59 miles in 5.5 hours, and her first open water swim using “polo front crawl”- swimming with your head above water to see where you are going!

Rachel says her motivation is “the Green Belt Movement does things that are very close to my heart, I’m an environmentalist by profession. I just love the things they achieve. It’s inspiring what Wangari Maathai has done, taking a simple idea of planting trees and creating these amazing social benefits.”

If you would like to support Rachel, and help her raise funds for GBM, you can do so easily by visiting her Just Giving site.

Wangari Maathai’s whirlwind visit to London in June included not only the launch of the Congo Basin Fund. The rest of the week was filled with various speaking engagements and media appearances including interviews with BBC Radio’s Woman’s Hour, the Independent Newspaper and CNN’s 'Revealed' program.

Two highlights from the week that deserve special mention were the Ashden Awards and the Tree Planting Ceremony.

The Ashden Awards for sustainable energy are presented to outstanding entrepreneurs from both the UK and around the globe who show dedication and ingenuity in developing alternate energy solutions. Prof Maathai was on hand to present awards to the international winners and give a short speech to conclude the presentation. An enjoyable good night was had by all with the Royal Geographical Society being a perfect location for such an event.

The other stand out event from the week, was the Tree Planting Ceremony at Spitalfields City Farm. To help commemorate the 30th Anniversary of the farm, Prof Maathai was invited to take part in a short tour of the farm and plant a tree in a new section of the farm. Contrary to the weather forecast it was a pleasant day which gave all involved a chance to get outside and enjoy a unique part of inner city London.

Ellesmere College became the first UK school to be a partner of the Green Belt Movement by supporting the “Monduli Green” project in Tanzania.

Friday, June 20th saw a great day of fundraising events at the Ellesmere College campus. Students took part in a sponsored walk, cooked and sold food from different parts of the world, dressed up in an array of dazzling costumes and took part in a talent show. Students showed off their musical and acting talents to an audience of parents, teachers and fellow students. There was a great buzz after the talent show with students, parents and teachers alike agreeing it would be great to go to Kenya and see the projects firsthand.

The support and enthusiasm for the Monduli Green project could be seen in the energy and motivation of the students. The project began after a year 6 student visited Kenya and wanted to do something for the children she saw. This idea has blossomed into the Monduli Green project with the help of Cathy Allen, English language teacher and co-ordinator for international students.

The Monduli Green project is supporting four people from Monduli in Tanzania to be trained at the GBM Sharing the Approach workshops Nairobi, Kenya. This training will allow them to be able to start their own tree planting projects in Tanzania as a part of GBM Pan-African programme, which shares our grass roots development approach across different regions in Africa and the world.

Thank you for the lovely welcome and hospitality GBM received at Ellesmere College. It’s now down to other schools in the UK and around the world to follow the steps of Ellesmere College and help GBM to support people in Africa to change their lives.

Guest blogger - Alex Baine

The Diocese of Salisbury in southern England is twinned with the Diocese of southern Sudan. In celebration of the visit of the Bishop of Sudan, the parishioners of the church of St. Lawrence in Stratford-sub-Castle near Salisbury arranged a fete and fundraiser to increase awareness of poverty in Africa and to raise money for children's education in Sudan.

The event coincided with a visit of Archbishop Desmond Tutu to Salisbury as part of the Salisbury International Festival.

My mother, Helen, who happens to be a big fan of Wangari Maathai, put together this flower display in the St. Lawrence's to celebrate Prof.'s life and work. The leaves at the bottom of the display are from fig trees; the pot just seen to the left of the photo is a seedling and the pot says "Kenya."

Nobel Peace Laureate Wangari Maathai saw a dream come true on Tuesday June 17th with the launch of the Congo Basin Forest Fund (CBFF). The fund will support projects that make the forest worth more, as a living resource, than it would be cut down.

In the presence of Prime Ministers Jens Stoltenberg of Norway and Gordon Brown or Britain, the multi-donor fund was launched by Ministers of Forests from the 10 Central African countries surrounding the forest ecosystem. Said Prof Maathai “it was an historic day. I know that for Africa and the globe, the Congo forest is not negotiable. We need to secure its survival if we ourselves are to survive”.

The two Prime Ministers each committed 50 million British Pounds (equivalent to 200 Million USD) to the Congo Basin Forest Fund. The initiative was launched in cooperation with the Commission for the Forests of Central Africa (COMIFAC) and the African Development Bank (ADB). The ADB will host the fund in Tunis.
The Congo Forest covers an area twice the size of France and is the second largest tropical forest in the world – home to more than 50 million people, 10,000 species of plants , 1000 species of birds and 400 species of mammals.

The Congo Basin Forest Fund will be run by a governing council chaired by Professor Wangari Maathai - Nobel Peace Laureate and goodwill ambassador for the Congo Basin Forest, and the Rt. Hon. Paul Martin - former Prime Minister of Canada. To learn more about this exciting initiative, please visit www.cbf-fund.org

Today people around the world will be celebrating Earth Day together - a day aimed at inspiring awareness, appreciation and action for our planet Earth.

Why not join the Green Belt Movement's growing international network today by signing up to our facebook group. Here you can join discussions, access photos and videos, share your ideas and make friends with fellow environmentalists and GBM supporters.

We now also have our own GBM channel on YouTube. Subscribe to see videos of Wangari Maathai and GBM.

Happy Earth Day!

Today Prof. Maathai on behalf of all Kenyans, presented to the former United Nations Secretary General, H.E. Kofi Annan a gift of appreciation towards his efforts in spearheading the peace process in Kenya.

Prof Maathai expressed her deep gratitude, pleasure and humility to H.E. Koffi Annan and through him to the other members of the Panel of Eminent African Personalities namely, Madam Graça Machel, H. E Benjamin Mkapa and Honorable Oluyeni Adeniji who continues the work that started some months ago.

She acknowledged the complex and sensitive mission that Koffi Annan and his team undertook. She said "We lost so much as a country – many lives were lost and thousands displaced. Today, most Kenyans are ready to begin the business of healing this nation and we want you to know that we shall remain for ever grateful for you and your team.

Today we celebrate your efforts and those of your fellow panelists and want to express our deepest appreciation for restoring our hope in our country and giving us back a sense of pride.

It is therefore my pleasure to present this small gift to you as a token of our appreciation and on behalf of all the many Kenyans who may never be able to thank you in person. May it always remind you of the deep appreciation Kenya will always attach to your person. You will always be part of our history."

The Green Belt Movement has today launched a page on the Alternative Channel - an independent online channel focusing on environmental issues and sustainable development.

You can watch excerpts from 'Taking Root: the vision of Wangari Maathai' a film by Lisa Merton and Alan Dater (Marlboro Productions) which tells the story of Wangari and GBM.




Keep an eye on our Alternative Channel site for more films, and sign up to join in discussions, rate films and share them with friends.

The Green Belt Movement today launched an initiative aimed at facilitating healing and reconciliation following almost 3 weeks of inter-communal ethnic clashes, where members of various communities attacked members of other communities, especially those perceived to have voted for the President in the just concluded and controversial Presidential Elections.

In her statement during the launch, Prof Maathai pointed out that, “The resurgence of ethnic clashes is particularly painful and frustrating. It is a beast that appears especially during General Elections… Understanding the root causes of these clashes would help those who ask the question ‘Why would Kenyans who have lived together as neighbors suddenly turn on each other with such hatred and destructive intent?’”

She added that “there can be no healing and reconciliation until and unless the truth is laid bare and justice is administered. This time round we, as Kenyans, must not sweep the truth under the carpet. We must let it be known!”

With this statement (full text in is posted on the homepage under 'GBM in the News'), the tent was declared open to the public. Over the next days, weeks and probably months, the tent will host various activities aimed at bringing about a better understanding of the current situation, its genesis, and how we can begin the healing process. The first GBM sponsored event is planned for next week where some of those affected in the clashes are expected to testify as to what happened. At the tent GBM will also be collecting signatures for solidarity with the victims of the clashes.

The Peace Tent is likely to be the beginning of a life-changing process. Most important, it is hoped that those who come to the tent will find peace in the knowledge that “someone” is listening and healing is a real possibility. Thank you, GBM!

Below is a copy of the special e-newsletter that was sent out yesterday.

Dear Friends and Supporters,

Many of you have been in touch in recent days to ask about Wangari and the Green Belt Movement. We have all been very concerned about the violence in Kenya that erupted after the elections in late December. The events that have unfolded in Kenya are tragic and we watch with deep concern and sorrow.

Unfortunately a few of our staff have suffered displacement and loss of property. Because GBM is active in areas of the Rift Valley most affected by the tension, we are exploring interventions that would support those displaced at this difficult time. Emotionally, everyone is deeply affected and this will take time to heal.

Wangari has been working tirelessly since the election results were announced. She has been involved in various groups that are working hard to find a lasting solution to this crisis. This has included meetings with religious leaders (most notably a meeting with fellow Nobel Peace Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu), politicians, and with other representatives from Kenya’s strong and vibrant civil society. She has also given many interviews to local and international press explaining the genesis of the conflict and in support of dialogue and reconciliation. Several of these pieces are on our website.

Members of staff have also been following the events with great interest and concern. Upon the opening of the office on January 8, the management team decided to postpone our Annual Program Review meeting to next month, to allow time for staff to return to Nairobi and settle their families. The current situation has also resulted in the postponement of school openings. As a result, staff have requested additional time off to manage this change.

We do not know yet how these events will impact our programs, as some rural areas where GBM is active are still experiencing unrest. However, GBM’s approach of bringing communities together to resolve problems becomes even more critical at times like this. As the violence continues to subside, there will be plans to visit the affected areas and begin a process that will bring healing and reconciliation. We hope and believe that GBM communities will continue building upon their programs and planting more trees to help bring about peace.

Staff and supporters of GBM will continue to do everything in their power to support the communities to make sure this happens.

Once again, we would like to thank all our friends around the world for their concern and support. We will continue to post information on the website as the situation unfolds.



If you would like to receive our quarterly e-newsletter please enter your email address on our homepage.

Looking for a great holiday gift? The ABC Home and Planet Foundation has partnered with the Green Belt Movement to offer a Billion Trees for a Better World. You can plant 100 trees to support Green Belt Movement’s innovative community based programs to support sustainable development and women’s empowerment. With your donation, you will receive a beautiful silk sari envelope, which holds a personalized certificate of appreciation. Please visit the link for ABC Home and Planet Foundation at abchomeandplanet.org/GB/BillionTrees.aspx to find out more about this partnership.

It’s a day of celebration for GBM and the whole planet today as it was officially announced that the Billion Tree Campaign has reached its goal of planting one billion trees worldwide. The campaign was launched by Wangari Maathai and Prince Albert II of Monaco at the beginning of 2007 and is a joint initiative between UNEP, ICRAF and the Green Belt Movement. Thank you from GBM to everyone around the world who has planted a tree!

It all started when a corporate group in the US told Prof. Maathai it was planning to plant a million trees. Her response: “That’s great, but what we really need is to plant a billion trees”. This comment was the inspiration for a global effort, which has brought together individuals, communities, organisations, governments and corporations all over the world with the same purpose. And now the billionth tree has been planted!

At a time when the full effect of our negative impact on the environment is being realised, this is a great achievement and sign that with the vision and mobilisation of enough people, change CAN happen.

The announcement also comes just in advance of the next Climate Change Conference in Bali, drawing attention to the role that reforestation and protection of forests can have in tackling climate change.

We hope that the success of the campaign is just the beginning of further efforts to restore and protect our environment. So do as Prof. Maathai suggests and “plant another tree today in celebration’.

For more information visit Billion Tree Campaign

Nobel Laureate Prof. Wangari Maathai yesterday received the Indira Gandhi International Award for Peace, Disarmament and Development for 2006 at Rashtrapati Bhavan in India.
While presenting the award, President Pratibha Singh Patil congratulated Maathai on her contribution to development and for her passionate commitment to the protection of the environment.
Professor Maathai was awarded the Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding earlier this year.
In his opening speech, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called on the developed world to join hands in adopting eco-friendly practices and tackle climate change and green house gas emissions by pursuing development based on reducing the per capita emissions.
“She understood the need for environmental care. In 1972, at the First World Summit on Environment, Indiraji, Gandhi expressed concern about the environment when global interest on the issue was raw” said President Patil.

“It is befitting that the Indira Gandhi Peace Prize is being conferred to Professor Wangari Muta Maathai, whose commitment to the cause of development, women's rights and the environment are praiseworthy. Her Green Belt Movement has succeeded in planting 300 million trees across Kenya to prevent soil erosion. She is now spearheading the United Nations Billion Tree Campaign. I am hopeful that India will contribute to increasing the forest cover on the Planet. We will be launching a major a forestation program called "Green India" for planting trees in 6 million hectares of degraded forest land. This will probably be one of the world's largest a forestation efforts in recent times,” Added Mrs. Patil.

While receiving the Prize, Professor Maathai called for “giving back to our children a world of beauty and wonder".
She noted that for this to be achieved, all the citizens of the world would need to collectively join their hands and adopt eco-friendly practices.
“In tackling climate change and Green House Gas emissions, we must work together to find pragmatic and practical solutions, which are for the benefit of the entire humankind. No strategy to deal with Climate Change should foreclose the developing countries from the possibilities of accelerated social and economic development.” Prof. Maathai said.
The Nobel Laureate who is also the President of the Economic, Social and Cultural Council of the African Union (ECOSSOC- AU) noted the urgent need to address the "development deficit" in the global agenda.
Developing countries, whether in Asia or Africa, need economic growth to provide to their people opportunities for decent lives. The needs and concerns of developing countries should be addressed in global trade negotiations as also in climate change discussions,” the Laureate noted.

On Friday, November 2nd Unbowed was recognized at the Hurston/Wright Legacy Awards in Washington, DC where it won in the non-fiction category! Although Prof was unable to attend and accept the award onstage at the National Press Club, the judges spoke very highly and said that her book should make her feel “warrior proud!” Indeed, news of the award has made all of us at GBM feel proud and grateful for the public appreciation of Prof’s memoir!

In accepting this distinguished award Prof wrote, “Working on Unbowed was a wonderful journey for me… tracing my past and especially honoring those who made such a difference in my life. I believe it is critical for our positive stories to be told to inspire the next generation. Thank you for your recognition of this journey.”

Friends near and far have been contacting our GBM offices this week to congratulate her on the award. Since 1990 the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award is the first national award presented to published writers of African descent. It is sponsored by Borders Books & Music and consists of prizes for the highest quality writing in the categories of Fiction, Debut Fiction, Nonfiction, and Poetry. Another wonderful milestone for Unbowed!

GBM was very pleased to read in last weekend's Observer that Prince Charles is launching a Rainforest Initiative bringing together expertise from around the world to address this neglected area.

At a recent event the Prince of Wales argued that a tree is a more valuable contribution to the planet standing in a forest than if chopped down.

The message that we share is the need to do more to conserve the standing forests of the world such as the Amazon, the Congo Forest and the forests of South East Asia.

This is a central element of Professor Wangari Maathai's work as the Goodwill Ambassador to the Congo Forests, and will help us to broaden the argument from carbon offsetting as a means to combat climate change, to focus on the need to restore and protecting ecosystems and the environment.

Thursday evening Emily and I cycled across central London to the Royal Courts of Justice to attend the Time Heroes of the Environment Awards ceremony. We were going because Wangari Maathai is one of the Time "Heroes of the Environment" this year and unfortunately was unable to attend herself.

As we entered the building, vaulted ceilings stretched upwards to an amazing height and fresh foliage displays transformed the grey halls. Soon, with drink in hand, we were looking to see who we might know in the throng. Quickly we spotted the most well known hero present that evening- David Attenborough sitting nearby. Then after some lively discussion about the meaning and ethics of corporate social responsibility with a representative of an international business, it was time for the awards ceremony.

David Attenborough was up first, and spoke about how important such awards are for the environment to raise awareness. He also mentioned that he is often asked: why did he keep his interest in the natural world throughout his life? His reply: when did you lose your interest in the natural world? Perfectly put! And a perfect way to spend an evening to celebrate the work and life of environmental heros everywhere.

Congrats to Wangari and the other heroes honoured in this award.

More on the Time Magazine Heroes of the Environment here.

Fantastic news! Al Gore and UN's IPCC have won the Nobel Peace Prize for 2007.

The first we knew of it was this morning, when press started to call to get Wangari's opinion on the upcoming announcement from the Nobel Committee. Then while talking on the phone to set up an interview time with CNN, the word came through. First Al Gore had won, and then that he was sharing the prize with the IPCC, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Al Gore's film "An Inconvenient Truth" has educated people across the globe on climate change in an accessible way. The film brings home that climate change is happening now and will be devastating for future generations. The IPCC is a UN body comprised of about 3,000 atmospheric scientists, oceanographers, ice specialists, economists and other experts, and is the world's top scientific authority on global warming and its impact. Earlier this year the IPCC's fourth report stated that climate change is almost without a doubt a result of human activity.

This is the second time the Nobel Committee has brought to the world’s attention the importance of the environment. The first time was when our founder, Wangari Maathai, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004 for her work on the linkage between peace, the environment and democracy.

Got to run and answer those phones . . . no doubt it's more people wanting to hear Prof’s views! A press release from Prof and GBM will be released shortly in the main section.

Those of us who've followed Wangari Maathai's work over the years know that she has embraced the Japanese concept of mottainai. Here's a story that recently ran on National Public Radio about how the Japanese are embracing the concept.

Mottainai Grandma Reminds Japan, “Don’t Waste”

Deborah Amos, Steve Inskeep

Deborah Amos, host: NPR and National Geographic are traveling the world for Climate Connections. This morning, we’re in Japan. The Kyoto Protocol was signed there a decade ago. That’s the big climate treaty in which many countries around the world pledge to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

Steve Inskeep, host: Now one way to reduce emissions is through conservation. And Japan has a strong tradition of living small and smart. But it’s also a country that likes the good life, and the good life requires electricity—a lot of electricity. NPR’s David Kestenbaum traveled to Japan for our series and stayed in a hotel with four remote controls and heated toilet seats and a talking bath. He did find a different message in a popular children’s book called “Mottainai Grandma.”

David Kestenbaum: The book begins Mottainai Grandma is coming, which, depending on your viewpoint is either cause for celebration or reason to run. Mottainai, roughly translates as don’t waste. In the drawings, Grandma looks a little stern—hair up in a bun, cane in one hand. And there’s no avoiding her eyes. Mottainai, she said to her grandson who is brushing his teeth. One cup of water is enough.

For many Japanese, this is very funny—a scene right out of childhood.

Dr. Yuko Kawanishi (Psychology and Education Associate Professor, Tokyo Gakugei University): This is incredible. Mottainai Grandma.

Kestenbaum: Yuko Kawanishi is the sociologist at Tokyo Gakugei University.

Dr. Kawanishi: (Japanese spoken)

Kestenbaum: She reads from a page. Grandma clearly loves the boy but she also has a compulsive need to ring every bit of usefulness from an object. Crumpled paper? Make a dinosaur. Leftover pencil stubs? Draw a rainbow.

Dr. Kawanishi: I don’t think my grandmother was this harsh but she used to think the exactly the same way.

Kestenbaum: On one page, the grandson has some rice left on his plate. Grandma says, let me lick it off. Her grandson squirmed.

Dr. Kawanishi: And she licked my face all over. Yuck, I shouted. But she kept saying, mottainai, let me lick bowl. Lick. Lick. Lick.

(Soundbite of laughter)

Kestenbaum: This is not some ancient Japanese notion that was lost thousands of years ago. People told me this had been drilled into them at childhood. Finish your rice.

Our interpreter Junko Takahashi told me over dinner that she was told as a kid she would go blind if she didn’t eat every grain. And she still remembers one evening, at age four or five, when she could not finish her rice—her little stomach was just too full.

Ms. Junko Takahashi (Interpreter): So I start crying, crying and crying and then I said, Father, I cannot eat all of them. But my father said, no, you have to eat them all, otherwise you cannot go to bed. And then all my families, everybody finished the meal and then they went to bed. And I said, my father was sleeping, and I was still crying in front of the rice, and then I went to my father. I said, Father, I still cannot eat the rice. And my father said, I don’t know. You have to finish them. Since then, I cannot leave the rice, still now, after, like, over 30 years? But still, I cannot leave the rice. So it’s kind of traumatic.

Kestenbaum: Ah, where does virtue end and neurosis begin?

Mottainai is an old Buddhist word. Yuko Kawanishi, the sociologist, says it also ties in with the Shinto idea that objects have souls.

Dr. Kawanishi: The whole idea that we are part of the nature and therefore we should be in a very harmonious relationship with the nature. It’s very much a deep part of the Japanese people’s psychology.

Kestenbaum: But mottainai also stems from some tough realities. Japan has little in the way of natural resources. So it traditionally has had to import. Until recently, Japan was relative poor. No longer.

(Soundbite of children talking)

Kestenbaum: Tokyo can be overwhelming even if you’re from New York. It’s like being inside a giant pinball machine. Some streets are so brightly lit it’s hard to tell outside from inside, day from night. And the truth is that Japan’s carbon emissions are up since 1990, even though it has pledged to reduce them, even though the population is flat and expected to drop.

Throughout the country, there are more apartment buildings, more offices, more appliances and electronics. But the idea of mottainai is still down there in the cultural DNA somewhere. It’s not uncommon for people to reuse water from their evening bath in their laundry machines. And in Japan, a trashcan is not just a trashcan, it’s three or more—one for bottles, one for cans—to recycle.

There seem to be two ideas sitting uncomfortably in the same brain. One, I should not waster, and two, I want what the modern world has to offer—like maybe a Hummer.

(Soundbite of engine running)

Kestenbaum: I visited the Hummer dealership in Tokyo and ran into Fujimura Ikuzo, a 33-year-old hipster designer with a ponytail. He says he’d like to own a Hummer but it won’t fit in his parking space.

Mr. Fujimura Ikuzo (Hipster designer): I actually measured my parking spot.

Kestenbaum: Hybrid cars sell well in Japan but he says they’re not for him.

Mr. Ikuzo: Yeah, it’s a nice, you know. They run a lot of distance for a small gasoline. But it’s boring, you know.

Kestenbaum: You worry about climate change?

Mr. Ikuzo: Yes.

Kestenbaum: Ikuzo says it is cool to be environmentally conscious here. He reuses his bath water to wash out his paintbrushes.

Mr. Ikuzo: Like, you know, small thing that I can do because I waste a lot of gasoline, you know, I try to make up, you know, with balance.

Kestenbaum: And this really is one of the central dilemmas the world faces with climate change. How much should everyone sacrifice? Do we need to sacrifice? It’s hard to take The pulse of a country but those “Mottainai Grandma” books do seem to have struck a chord. They’re selling well—over 400,000 copies.

Ms. Moriko Shinju (Author and Illustrator, “Mottainai Grandma”): Hi, my name is Moriko Shinju, and I am author and illustrator for “Mottainai Grandma.”

Kestenbaum: I met Shinju at her publisher’s office, a top floor of a tall building with views of concrete Tokyo in all direction. She told me she wrote the book because her 4-year-old son didn’t understand why it was so important to finish his food.

Do you think that mottainai is something that’s sort of been forgotten?

Ms. Shinju: Yeah.

(Through translator) Our parents taught us what is mottainai so that we know what it means, but if we don’t teach them to our children, they don’t know. And then I think that it’s a very scary thing. And that’s why I thought we have to make effort to teach the idea and to change the situation.

Kestenbaum: Magazines and newspapers are now asking Shinju to draw and write “Mottainai Grandma” stories for them. There’s also a CD of children songs.

(Soundbite of music)

Kestenbaum: This pushy, dancing grandma is not the only one reeducating the Japanese about mottainai. There’s also Wangari Maathai, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. She’s not Japanese. She’s from Kenya, Africa, but she’s become a kind of celebrity here, teaching the Japanese about their own word.

Yuko Kawanishi, the sociologist, said this sort of thing happens all the time. Japan discards an idea as it Westernizes and it takes someone from outside to say, you know, you had something interesting there.

David Kestenbaum, NPR News.

Wangari Maathai's U.S. book tour for the paperback edition of Unbowed is complete, and the stats are in. In Seattle on September 19 as part of the Seattle Arts and Lectures series, Prof. spoke to 2,328 people -- that's more than the population of many U.S. towns. In San Francisco and Sacramento, on September 20 and 21, Prof. addressed a combined audience of 1,600. Heading east, Prof's next stop was the bustling (and quite green) metropolis of Chicago. On September 23 at the Windy City's Humanities Festival, 1,300 people turned out on a not particularly windy Sunday evening to hear Wangari.

Continuing east and south, the next stop was the U.S.' capital, Washington, DC. On September 24, in a sold out lecture sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution, 700+ people turned out to hear Prof. and buy copies of Unbowed. Final stop, the Big Apple, aka New York City, where the auditorium at the Museum of Natural History held an enthusiastic crowd of 900+. (Alas, friends of this blogger couldn't get in to the events in DC or New York, "sold out" messages greeted them...although that offers yet another reason, if one's needed, to read the book). Numbers for media interviews are still coming in, but Wangari did many while on tour, with national, regional and some local newspapers and TV and radio programs, magazines and Web-based publications. They'll be posted on the Website when they become available, so be sure to check back. Links to several interviews are already up (see Articles section).

Two days after the tour ended came the satisfying news that the hoped-for objective of all this travel, speaking and signing had been realized. Unbowed will be on the New York Times' paperback non-fiction book bestseller list for the first week of October. Wonderful news that so many book buyers, and readers, are out there across the the U.S. Prof. greeted the news with delight, toasting the occasion with a glass of New York City tap water (a cup of hot tea wasn't far away).